Axa S.A. Sells 1,096,371 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Axa S.A. lowered its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 89.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 125,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,096,371 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,794,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE IPG opened at $25.00 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.45 and a 200-day moving average of $27.58. The company has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Profile

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.